The Fruits of Opportunism

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This book provides an in-depth examination of the regulatory, entrepreneurial, and organizational factors driving the growth and transformation of China’s supplemental education industry. As parents in China increasingly seek to enhance their children's academic performance, for-profit tutoring businesses have surged, making China the largest and most dynamic for-profit education market globally. This industry significantly impacts the U.S. higher education landscape, with over 70% of Chinese students in American universities having taken test preparation classes for standardized tests. The author, a former insider in China’s education sector, investigates how opportunistic organizations flourished in an ambiguous policy environment, catalyzing both organizational and institutional changes. Despite state-imposed restrictions, the industry evolved into one dominated by private, nationally operating, and globally financed corporations. The book highlights how opportunistic organizations, founded by marginal entrepreneurs, quickly came to dominate the market. As their non-compliant practices proliferated, these organizations drove the privatization and marketization of education from below. This exploration reveals that while opportunism can lead to negative consequences, it also plays a crucial role in shaping and evolving markets.